Own a 96 LS and I think I broke something! HELP!

[Phreddie Ruxpin]

Let me preface this by saying that I know nothing about cars and don't do any of my own work. I'm just trying to figure out if the car is worth fixing, whether I should part it out or just sell it outright as is. Maybe some of you experts here can help me out.

So I think I need a new crankshaft... Here's the situation. I had the timing belt replaced about 6 months ago (by a friend of my wife's family). The car ran fine until about 3 weeks ago. Suddenly a belt (which I think was the A/C belt, the one in the middle) just popped off. So I take a look underneath with a friend of mine, who knows a bit more about this stuff than I, and we find the crankshaft pulley bolt to be loose. We attempt to tighten and put the belt back on. We start the car and the pulley loosens again and wobbles. My friend suggests that I take it to a garage and have it tightened with an air gun. So I do that. Things are good for about 3 miles until that obnoxious noise starts again. So I take it back to the place that just tightened it to try again. This time it doesn't work at all. So I drive it about 45 miles to my house. While driving, the noise stops. Also, I have no more power steering or A/C and the battery light comes on. Obviously the pulley has stopped turning. So I get it home and try to remove the pulley with a 1/2" socket with no success. So now I'm trying to figure out what the real problem is... Is the pulley bolt stripped or cross-threaded? Is the pulley bad? Is the little set notch thingy (yes I said thingy) behind the pulley broken? Or, is it the worst of all...do I need a new crankshaft. Any info/ suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Cheesenip]

the crank is probably stripped. Any good shop should have told you that before they sent you on your way.
more than likely you will not need a new crank, just take it to a better shop and have it rethreaded with a new bolt.

A better situation would be the bolt is damaged and not the crank.

 

[Phreddie Ruxpin]

Yes, that would be perfect situation. I just hope that it's not going to be pricey. Don't want to put a whole lot more money into it.

 

[shocker]

well it sounds to me like the key way in the crank..."notch thingy" that keeps the pulley in its place when its tightened down is not there then causing the pulley to not turn over as frequently as it should slipping on the crank and then in tern loosening the bolt back up every time.

 

[SLV_DB7]

Yeah, i agree with the 2 posts above, the only real way to tell is to remove the pulley and inspect what is going on. Remove the pulley and see if the Keyway is there (the thingey) if it is you should have room to inspect the hole that the bolt runs through. IMO it is worth fixing if the car if it was running good before the incident, that is if you feel your time is worth it. Yes it would be easier to buy a new car, and sell the one you have. But you'll never know if it will only be a $100 fix if you don't investigate

 

[Phreddie Ruxpin]

Well I'm definitely going to investigate the problem to see how exstensive the damage is. The outcome will be determined after that. I appreciate all you guy's help and suggestions.

 

[Cheesenip]

Yeah, i agree with the 2 posts above, the only real way to tell is to remove the pulley and inspect what is going on. Remove the pulley and see if the Keyway is there (the thingey) if it is you should have room to inspect the hole that the bolt runs through. IMO it is worth fixing if the car if it was running good before the incident, that is if you feel your time is worth it. Yes it would be easier to buy a new car, and sell the one you have. But you'll never know if it will only be a $100 fix if you don't investigate

if the key was missing, then the bolt shouldnt have been a problem. the pully woulda be loose and the bolt woulda came out w/o a problem